On Sunday, Iran allegedly attacked U.S. installations in Jordan via proxy.
Via Politico:
A day after three U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Jordan, top U.S. officials issued a warning to Iran-backed extremists on Sunday. The situation in the Middle East has dramatically escalated since the attack.
“We had a rough night last night in the Middle East.” Joe Biden, President of the United States, said in South Carolina that three brave men were killed in an attack against one of our bases.
Then he asked for a minute of silence, adding: “And now we will respond.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his “outrage and deep sadness” at the deaths and promised that the strike will not go unanswered.
He said that “Iran-backed armed groups are responsible for the continued attacks against U.S. Forces, and we will react at a time of our choosing.” “The president will not tolerate any attacks against American forces. We will take whatever necessary actions to defend our country, troops, and interests.”
The drone attack on Saturday night resulted in three U.S. soldiers being killed, and another 25 wounded. This is the first attack in which American soldiers have been killed. The drone attacks and missiles that began shortly after Hamas militants murdered 1,200 Israelis in October 7 started months ago. According to an anonymous U.S. official who spoke about the situation, the attack affected living quarters at the base.
The corporate state-owned media and national security state have taken advantage of the situation to push for a full-scale war against Iran.
Joe Scarborough: A lot of Americans are interested in knowing: If the Iranians continue sponsoring attacks that kill Americans and wound Americans cause serious problems and undermine American interest in the region, when will we go after Iran and attack them there?
John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator of Strategic Communications: I understand Americans’ concerns about these repeated attacks from groups backed by Iran. Joe… We are going to respond. We will do that. We’ll do that.
John Kirby, in his remarks to the press today, refused to commit to not attacking Iran (not the proxy Jordanian militia it is alleged to have used to conduct the attacks). He refused to agree to consult with Congress, which has the right and duty of authorizing war before launching a strike on Iran.
It’s important to understand that if we attack Iran, which is no easy task, China and Russia will almost certainly join us on the other side. At this point, there would be a nuclear-armed World War III.
The geopolitical reality, insulated from the realities by these technocrats, is that the U.S., along with the wider neoliberal order, is waging a war on three fronts, almost entirely of their own making, in Eurasia and the Middle East. Only a fool, high on hubris, war contractor talking points, and naiveté, would think that the U.S. could win even one of them without causing nuclear destruction, never mind all three.
This is the stuff that crumbled empires.
